Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Wild vegetables of the Mediterranean area as valuable sources of bioactive compounds

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The intake of traditionally consumed wild edible species is nowadays receiving renewed attention, due to the recognition of their potential benefits for human health. This paper represents a contribution to the knowledge of the chemical composition of different wild and under-utilized vegetables of the Mediterranean area, concerning their organic acid profile and the distribution of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids as vitamin C activity. Fifteen species, belonging to ten botanical families, were selected, analyzing two samples of each one from two different localities of Central Spain. Each species showed a specific organic acids fingerprint. Citric acid was 90% of total organic acids in Tamus communis; malic acid was the major one in Humulus lupulus, Taraxacum obovatum and Cichorium intybus, and oxalic acid was the main organic acid in Beta maritima, Papaver rhoeas, Silybum marianum, Foeniculum vulgare, Rumex pulcher, Silene vulgaris, Scolymus hispanicus, Rumex papillaris and Bryonia dioica. The distribution of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid was highly variable. Mean values for total vitamin C ranged between 1.5 and 79.4 mg/100 g. Tamus communis, R. pulcher, S. vulgaris and B. dioica, showed the highest content of AA, and together with F. vulgare and H. lupulus, the highest total vitamin C content. These results can be useful to complete food composition databases with the inclusion of wild vegetables from the Mediterranean area, contributing to enhance the diversity of the diet as well as its nutritional quality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ansari NM, Houlihan L, Hussain B, Pieroni A (2005) Antioxidant activity of five vegetables traditionally consumed by South-Asian Migrants in Bradford, Yorkshire, UK. Phytother Res 19:907–911

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • AOAC (1993) Peer verified methods program. AOAC, Manual on policies and procedures. AOAC International, Arlington

    Google Scholar 

  • Barros L, Carvalho AM, Ferreira ICFR (2010a) Leaves, flowers, immature fruits and leafy flowered stems of Malva sylvestris: a comparative study of the nutraceutical potential and composition. Food Chem Toxicol 48(6):1466–1472

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barros L, Carvalho AM, Ferreira ICFR (2010b) The nutritional composition of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare): Shoots, leaves, stems and inflorescences. Food Sci Technol 43(5):814–818

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bender DA (2003) Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). In: Bender DA (ed) Nutritional biochemistry of the vitamins, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 357–384

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bharucha Z, Pretty J (2010) The roles and values of wild foods in agricultural systems. Philos Trans R Soc B 365(1554):2913–2926

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biglino G, Nano GM (1965) Partial synthesis of bryogenine. XII. Constituents of Bryonia dioica root. Farmaco 20(8):566–569

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Campra-Madrid P, Guil-Guerrero JL (2002) High-performance liquid chromatographic purification of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) from the seed oil of two Boraginaceae species. Chromatographia 56:673–677

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Couplan F (1990) Les belles veneneuses. Encyclopedie des plantes comestibles de l’Europe vol.3. Equilibres Aujourd’houi, Flers

    Google Scholar 

  • Eitenmiller RR, Ye L, Landen WO Jr (2008) Ascorbic acid: vitamin C. In: Eitenmiller RR, Ye L, Landen WO Jr (eds) Vitamin analysis for the health and food sciences, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 231–289

    Google Scholar 

  • Escudero NL, de Arellano ML (2003) Taraxacum officinale as a food source. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 58:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Ruiz V, Galiana L, Sánchez-Mata MC, Chaya C, Roselló S, Cámara M, Torija ME, Nuez F (2004) Internal quality characterization of fresh tomato fruits. Hortscience 39:339–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferreres F, Ribeiro V, Izquierdo AG, Rodrigues MA, Seabra RM, Andrade PB, Valentao P (2006) Rumex induratus leaves: interesting dietary source of potential bioactive compounds. J Agric Food Chem 54:5782–5789

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine (2000) Vitamin C. Dietary reference intakes for vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoids. National Academy Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghane SG, Lokhande VH, Ahire ML, Nikam TD (2010) Indigofera glandulosa Wendl. (Barbada) a potential source of nutritious food: underutilized and neglected legume in India. Genet Resour Crop Evol 57:147–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guil JL, Torija ME, Gimenez JJ, Rodriguez I, Gimenez A (1996) Oxalic acid and calcium determination in wild edible plants. J Agric Food Chem 44:1821–1823

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guil JL, Rodríguez I, Torija ME (1997) Nutritional and toxic factors in selected wild edible plants. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 51(2):99–107

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • HadadChi GHR, Moradi Z (2005) The amounts and distribution of diosgenin and saponin and their carbohydrate moiety of Tamus communis L. J Agric Sci Nat Resour 12(2):55–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Hadjichambis AC, Paraskeva-Hadjichambi D, Della A, Giusti ME, De Pasquale C, Lenzarini C, Censorii E, González-Tejero MR, Sanchez-Rojas CP, Ramiro-Gutiérrez JM, Skoula M, Johnson C, Sarpaki A, Hmamouchi M, Jorhi S, El-Demerdash M, El-Zayat M, Pieroni A (2008) Wild and semi-domesticated food plant consumption in seven circum-Mediterranean areas. Int J Food Sci Nutr 59(5):383–414

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer K, Knüpffer H, Laghetti G, Perrino P (1999) Seeds from the past. A catalogue of crop germplasm in Central and North Italy, IG of CNR, Bari

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich M, Nebel S, Leonti M, Rivera D, Obón C (2006) ‘Local Food-Nutraceuticals’: bridging the gap between local knowledge and global needs. Forum Nutr 59:1–17

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz W, Latimer GW (2005) Official methods of analysis of AOAC international, 18th edn. AOAC, Gaithersburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu H-C, Chien C-S (1994) Validation of analytical methods: a simple model for HPLC assay methods. J Food Drug Anal 2(3):161–176

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hylands P, Kosugi J (1982) Bryonoside and bryoside—new triterpene glycosides from Bryonia dioica. Phytochem 21(6):1379–1384

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koudela M, Petříková K (2008) Nutritional compositions and yield of sweet fennel cultivars Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ssp. vulgare var. azoricum (Mill.) Thell. Hortscience Prague 35(1):1–6

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin JT, Liu SC, Chen SL, Chen HY, Yang DJ (2006) Effects of domestic processing on steroidal saponins in taiwanese yam cultivar (Dioscorea pseudojaponica Yamamoto). J Agr Food Chem 54(26):9948–9954

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • López-Bucio J, Nieto-Jacobo MF, Ramírez-Rodríguez V, Herrera-Estrella L (2000) Organic acid metabolism in plants: from adaptive physiology to transgenic varieties for cultivation in extreme soils. Plant Sci 160:1–13

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martins D, Barros L, Carvalho AM, Ferreira ICFR (2011) Nutritional and in vitro antioxidant properties of edible wild greens in Iberian Peninsula traditional diet. Food Chem 125(2):488–494

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mataix J, Mañas M, Llopis J, Martinez de Victoria E (1998) Tabla de composición de alimentos españoles, 3rd edn. Editorial Universal de Granada, Granada

    Google Scholar 

  • Molina M (2009) Valoración productiva de siete especies silvestres tradicionalmente recolectadas con fines alimentarios en la Península Ibérica. Master thesis. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

  • Oliveira AP, Pereira JA, Andrade PB, Valentão P, Seabra RM, Silva BM (2008) Organic acids composition of Cydonia oblonga Miller leaf. Food Chem 111:393–399

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pardo-de-Santayana M, Tardío J, Blanco E, Carvalho AM, Lastra JJ, San Miguel E, Morales R (2007) Traditional knowledge on wild edible plants in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal): a comparative study. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 3:27

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips KM, Tarragó-Trani MT, Gebhardt SE, Exler J, Patterson KY, Haytowitz DB, Pehrsson PR, Holden JM (2010) Stability of vitamin C in frozen raw fruit and vegetable homogenates. J Food Compost Anal 23:253–259

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pieroni A, Nebel S, Santoro RF, Heinrich M (2005) Food for two seasons: culinary uses of non-cultivated local vegetables and mushrooms in a south Italian village. Int J Food Sci Nutr 56(4):245–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Price LL (2003) Farm womens rights and roles in wild plant food gathering and management in North-East Thailand. In: Howard PL (ed) Women and plants. Gender relations in biodiversity management and conservation. Zed Books and IDRC, London, pp 101–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Prohens J, Sánchez MC, Rodríguez-Burruezo A, Cámara M, Torija E, Nuez F (2005) Morphological and Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Fruits of Pepino (Solanum muricatum), Wild Relatives (S. caripense and S. tabanoense) and Interspecific Hybrids. Implications in Pepino Breeding. Eur J Hortic Sci 7:224–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Redzic S (2006) Wild edible plants and their traditional use in the human nutrition in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ecol Food Nutr 45(3):189–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera D, Obón C, Inocencio C, Heinrich M, Verde A, Fajardo J, Palazón JA (2007) Gathered food plants in the mountains of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain): ethnobotany and multivariate analysis. Econ Bot 61:269–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz-Rodríguez BM, Morales P, Fernández-Ruiz V, Sánchez-Mata MC, Cámara M, Díez-Marqués C, Pardo-de-Santayana M, Molina M, Tardío J (2011) Valorization of wild strawberry-tree fruits (Arbutus unedo L.) through nutritional assessment and natural production data. Food Res Int. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2010.11.015 (in press)

  • Salvatore S, Pellegrini N, Brenna OV, Del Río D, Frasca G, Brighenti F, Tumino R (2005) Antioxidant characterization of some Sicilian edible wild greens. J Agric Food Chem 53(24):9465–9471

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer S, Schmitt-Schillig S, Müller WE, Eckert GP (2005) Antioxidant properties of mediterranean food plants extracts: geographical differences. J Physiol Pharmacol 56(Suppl. 1):115–124

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seabra RM, Andrade PB, Valentão P, Fernandes E, Carvalho F, Bastos ML (2006) Anti-oxidant compounds extracted from several plant materials. In biomaterials from aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Science Publishers, Enfield

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegall CB, Gawlak SL, Chace D, Wolff EA, Mixan B, Marquardt H (1994) Characterization of Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins isolated from Bryonia dioica and their utility as carcinoma-reactive immunoconjugates. Bioconjugate Chem 5(5):423–429

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Souci SW, Fachmann W, Kraut H (2008) Food composition and nutrition tables. Medpharm, Sttutgart, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Tardío J (2010) Spring is coming: the gathering and consumption of wild vegetables in Spain. In: Pardo-de-Santayana M, Pieroni A, Puri R (eds) Ethnobotany in the New Europe: people health and wild plant resources. Berghahn Books, Oxford-New York, pp 211–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Tardío J, Pardo-de-Santayana M, Morales R (2006) Ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants in Spain. Bot J Linn Soc 152(1):27–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Termote C, Van Damme P, Dhed’a Djailo B (2011) Eating from the wild: Turumbu, Mbole and Bali traditional knowledge on non-cultivated edible plants, District Tshopo, DRCongo. Genet Resour Crop Evol 58:585–618

    Google Scholar 

  • Vardavas CI, Majchrzak D, Wagner KH, Elmadfa I, Katafos A (2006) The antioxidant and phylloquinone content of wildly grown greens in Crete. Food Chem 99(4):813–821

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vazquez-Garcia V (2008) Gender, ethnicity, and economic status in plant management: Uncultivated edible plants among the Nahuas and Popolucas of Veracruz, Mexico. Agric Human Values 25:65–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeghichi S, Kallithraka S, Simopoulos AP, Kypriotakis Z (2003) Nutritional composition of selected wild plants in the diet of Crete. World Rev Nutr Diet 91:22–40

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowlegments

Research funding for this work was obtained from ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CGL2006-09546/BOS). We want to thank to Ramón Morales, Susana González and María Molina for collaborating in the gathering and preparation of the samples and for their comments about the manuscript. Antonio Galán helped in the correct determination of Taraxacum specimens.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. Nutrición y Bromatología II. Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Pza Ramón y Cajal, s/n, E-28040, Madrid, Spain

    M. C. Sánchez-Mata, R. D. Cabrera Loera, V. Fernández-Ruiz, M. Cámara & C. Díez Marqués

  2. Dpto. de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Internacional Valenciana (VIU), Valencia, Spain

    P. Morales

  3. Dpto. Biología (Botánica), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Edif. de Biología, Módulo B/Despacho 202, Campus de Cantoblanco C/Darwin, 2 E-28049, Madrid, Spain

    M. Pardo-de-Santayana

  4. Instituto Madrileño de Investigación y Desarrollo Rural, Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDRA), Finca “El Encín”, Apdo. 127, E-28800, Alcalá de Henares, Spain

    J. Tardío

Authors
  1. M. C. Sánchez-Mata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. D. Cabrera Loera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. P. Morales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. V. Fernández-Ruiz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. M. Cámara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. C. Díez Marqués
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  7. M. Pardo-de-Santayana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  8. J. Tardío
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. C. Sánchez-Mata.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sánchez-Mata, M.C., Cabrera Loera, R.D., Morales, P. et al. Wild vegetables of the Mediterranean area as valuable sources of bioactive compounds. Genet Resour Crop Evol 59, 431–443 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-011-9693-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-011-9693-6

Keywords